


You Catch More Flies With Honey Than Vinegar

by Jujus_island



Series: Short Sonadow Stories [7]
Category: Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Complete, Established Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mental Breakdown, Mental Health Issues, Not Beta Read, One Shot, Second-Hand Embarrassment, Sonadow - Freeform, Wordcount: 1.000-5.000, a little ooc, not too much tho, shadow needs therapy y'all
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-27
Updated: 2020-10-27
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:49:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27218929
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jujus_island/pseuds/Jujus_island
Summary: Sonic reaches a new milestone in his relationship. It's his first time seeing Shadow cry.
Relationships: Shadow the Hedgehog/Sonic the Hedgehog
Series: Short Sonadow Stories [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2001961
Comments: 4
Kudos: 86





	You Catch More Flies With Honey Than Vinegar

They had only been together for 3 months at this point but he’s learned about ten times more about him than he could have ever imagined during their years of rivalry to eventual friendship. It seems like every day he learned a new little piece of trivia about him, who knew he could figure skate like that, or that he had such a green thumb, or had the most warmest, passionate laugh in all of Mobius. Or all the emotional scars that he’d hidden in his heart. 

It was a day like any other, except that they had finally felt comfortable enough to let everyone know that yes they were gay, well, Sonic’s bi and Shadow’s gay, and yes they were dating. They tried to play it cool to their friends, playing it down like it was already common knowledge. 

“Oh yeah, we’re dating by the way.” Sonic had stated rather matter-of-factly as he latched onto the striped hedgehog's warm hand. And of course, there were those who knew, namely Tails and Rouge because one could keep and secret and you couldn’t keep a secret from the other. Others more attentive could pick up the “more than friends” air that seemed to carry wherever they went. But that didn’t stop the colorful group of Mobians from breaking out into a collective hysteria.

Questions, queries, cooing, aweing, and teasing were all thrown at the hedgehogs in one big cacophony. Sonic maintained his composure, acknowledging and ignoring the various comments he was bombarded with. He answered them quickly and confidently through his inexhaustible smile with an unusual hint of pink on his cheeks. He talked up the hedgehog at his side quite a bit. Singing his praises frankly when asked questions about him. 

Shadow on the other hand wasn’t one to emote, even given this situation. He wore his stoic frown almost permanently. But, by some miracle, all of the sudden it started to falter. Giving way to a hint of mild discomfort. Was his mask starting to slip or was Sonic getting attuned to reading his ever-persistent resting ‘female dog’ face. Whatever the case was, the discomfort was written on his face, especially his rosy red cheeks. 

This just won’t do, Sonic gave his boyfriend a tight hand squeeze through the gloved barrier. He looked to the black hedgehog’s face, looking for little shifts of his brows or for the small subtle changes on the corners of his lips. He was delighted to find them ever so slightly upturned at the applied pressure. His ruby eyes shifted to meet emeralds and for a brief moment, they managed to communicate solely through eye contact. 

“Hey, I’m here, I gotcha.”

“I know, thank you.”

But it was broken by the continuation of noise around them. Pulling them away. Sonic didn’t mind too much, they have both been so secretive of their budding relationship, and the road was so long to get there, what could be better than sharing the news of his new relationship with all the people he loved most? Well, Shadow seemed to think literally anything else. His brows were furrowed and he glanced around uneasy, looking for an exit. He never looked particularly approachable but anyone with half a mind would know better than to push his buttons today.  
The cavalcade of questions had got to him. Through gritted teeth, Shadow barked “That’s enough” at the crowd. The atmosphere immediately deflated from excitement to a quiet awkwardness. You could cut the tension with a knife, this fact Shadow knew all too well as everyone had started to walk on eggshells around him. It was up to none other than his boyfriend, Sonic, to save his friends from the second-hand embarrassment and relieve the pressure in the room.  
Sonic floated about the room, conversing and enthusing loudly to his various friends while Shadow acted as he always had, keeping close to his teammates and his boyfriend when he was free. Not a lot of people know him on a deeper, more significant level besides Rouge, Omega, and Sonic. Said hedgehog would converse with his friends and periodically stop to glance at his partner. Every time he’d see the ebony hedgehog, he sighed slightly in disappointment. Shadow had always been a loner, and honestly quite shy so Sonic wasn’t expecting miracles but he was hoping to see Shadow show more of the Hedgehog he sees behind closed doors. The hedgehog that would smile when he was held, blush when he was told he was loved, and sinker at stupid jokes. But that wasn’t what he saw tonight.  
He hung to the sidelines keeping to himself when he wasn’t being engaged by someone else. Sonic couldn’t understand why he wouldn’t want to really enjoy the event. A slower song came on and he headed over to his boyfriend. Sonic took his hand and led him onto the dance floor.  
Sonic and Shadow shuffled sort of awkwardly at the side of the dance floor doing a silly salsa/slow dance mix. They were entranced in each other’s eyes until Sonic broke the reverie by asking “Shads, are you having fun tonight.”  
“Yes.” The other hedgehog answered unconvincingly. 

“Well, you sure aren’t acting like it. What’s up.” 

It seems as though Shadow forgot how good his confidant has gotten at reading his static face. Shadow shrugged.

“Just… tired, don’t worry about it.” Shadow gave an inauthentic smile. Sonic's everlasting smile faltered. Shadow's mood was infectious to Sonic, with him being such an empath, but that wasn’t always to his benefit. 

From the sidelines, Rouge, Knuckles, and some others cheered the lovers on, and Shadow became visibly Irritated. 

“Awe come on Shads, lighten up!” 

Shadow grimaced at the comment. His developing ire reflected in his dance as it became significantly less passionate. Sonic practically drags his partner to the beat till the song was over and Shadow saunters away back to the outskirts of the room. They definitely made an odd match to all outsiders looking in.

✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧

Sonic and Shadow entered Sonic’s house after one of their incessant need to race had been filled. They had been participating in them since the moment they set eyes on each other. This was the catalyst that led them to get closer and form a formidable relationship that developed from platonic to romantic feelings. Normally, Sonic would take solace in their races, it reminded him of meeting that particular hedgehog he loved dearly. But that was not normally, today he had a chip on his shoulder that had to be addressed.  
“Why can’t Shadow chill out! I can’t stand how tense it can be between him and my friends.” Sonic pondered to himself as the hedgehogs entered the house. Shadow had held the door open for the azure hedgehog but wasn’t met with much of a reaction. Sonic had accepted, even revealed in his boyfriend’s eccentricities, something about the way he moved throughout life captivated his heart like no other. This, coinciding with the neutralizing carefree air about Shadow that he seemed to carry only for him made Sonic love him even more. But Sonic had no patience for when the same cadence didn’t carry over to Shadow’s rather indifferent treatment of his friends.  
Sonic considered saying something to the effect of ‘hey what’s your problem?’. He looked to the agent's face to read his expression, that would be the indication of how to proceed. “It’s probably not my friends, something must have irritated him again.” Sonic figured as he evaluated his lover's expression. He bore no fruits from his labor, his expression showed no discernible expression at all. Completely neutral. 

Shadow shifted and locked eyes with the Blue hedgehog. His lips curled into a small, innocent smile. “What’s on your mind?” The black hedgehog asked cooly with a hint of earnest interest singing through his tone. 

“What was up with you tonight?”

“What do you mean, Sonic?” 

“Um, your attitude.” Sonic spoke, clearly displeased with the response to his previous question. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about hedgehog.” Shadow shrugged, displaying slight irritation and displeasure with his partner's tone.

“I’m talking about the way you treat other people!” Sonic had finally started to let his underlying irritation manifest itself.

“Sonic wha-“ 

“You catch more flies with honey than vinegar y'know. Anyone ever told you that? Why can’t you just stop bringing down the mood all the time! I just want to be happy!”

“I-I don’t make you happy.” Shadow managed to choke out in utter disbelief. 

Sonic stood frozen. Whatever message he was trying to convey obviously hadn’t come across, at all, it was replaced with something a lot more hurtful.

Shadow’s once angled eyes started to drop in heartache as well as adopting a glossy finish. His ruby eyes were quickly teeming with tears. 

“I-I’m sorry Sonic. I tried, I tried so hard t-to be better for you, for Rouge, for Maria. I figured I had a shot.. at happiness, with you. But it’s all in vain if I bring-bring you down with me.” Shadow spoke through a weak, unsteady voice. Complete with an abundance of tears rolling down his cheeks, averting ruby eyes and fidgeting hands playing with his left inhibitor ring. 

Sonic reached for Shadow unconfidently, still rattled by the suggestion that Shadow made him unhappy, the words that came out of his very own lips but also, he’s never seen Shadow like this, so vulnerable to the point of tears. It dawned on him that he’d never seen Shadow cry before. 

Shadow rejected Sonic’s advances, physically pushing him away with enough force to get his point across but careful enough to not be truly threatening. “My creation was a mistake, Sonic! I’m the reason Maria’s dead, me! And through all the attempts I make to be different, at the end of the day, I’m still Gerald Robotnik’s weapon of mass destruction no matter how much I lie to myself. My past is my past and there's nothing I can do to change it! A-and I, I wish I could love the way you do Sonic, so effortlessly, so carelessly. I wish I was someone who deserves your unconditional love, and I’m selfish for thinking someone as wonderful as you could love a broken creature like me!” Shadow gasped through sobs, his voice shaking almost as much as his quivering body. 

Sonic’s original point of contention was completely lost in his mind. His only focus now was on his weeping partner. Sonic no longer had any reservations, he pulled Shadow into a tight embrace. Completely wrapping his arms around his lover. After the initial shock subsided, Shadow buried his sobs in Sonic's neck. After staying in that position for what felt like hours but was minutes to anyone else, Sonic shifted Shadow by the shoulders to gaze into his captivating scarlet irises. There was so much sadness conveyed through those bloodshot, puffy, sorrowful eyes. It broke Sonic's heart to see someone he loved so profoundly in such a state. 

“Who told you this?” Sonic suddenly asked through tears welling up in his own eyes, earning a slightly taken aback expression from the ebon. 

“No one had to tell me, it’s just the blatant truth.” Shadow sighed once again averting his eyes.

Sonic cupped Shadow’s tear-stained cheeks in his palms. 

“Shadow that couldn’t be further from the truth. When I look at you I see a selfless, intelligent, loving, strong, beautiful, incredible Hedgehog. I just wish you could see yourself for what you truly are. You never cease to surprise me with how-how strong you are! You're trying and I’m sorry I didn’t see that earlier. I was an idiot for being so careless. I know I’m inpatient but that gives me no excuse-“ 

“You're not an idiot.” Shadow interrupted 

“What?” 

“You’re not an idiot, Sonic.” Shadow smiled slightly 

“Are you sure?” Sonic giggled, re-introducing his infectious positivity. 

“Positive.” Shadow chuckled.

Sonic planted a sweet kiss on Shadows tan muzzle. He then held his hands in Shadow’s. Slightly rubbing Shadow’s palms with his thumbs affectionately through the fabric layer.

“Hey, I’ll always love you Shadow.” 

“I know, I love you too Sonic.”

**Author's Note:**

> My first Oneshot and writing a pure romance fic! I hope everyone enjoyed it :) sorry if anything seems weird, I'm dyslexic. I just realized I made Shadow such a drama queen lol.


End file.
